In this video, we explore TRDs—the plotting concept from my award-winning books on the craft of writing, Mastering Plot Twists and Mastering Suspense, Structure & Plot—and how their frequency impacts story pacing.
Whether you’re writing a suspenseful story with a slow burn or an international thriller with a blistering pace, my TRDs can help you to ensure consistency in your pacing while keeping readers intrigued from the start of your story, through to the very end.
Good luck with it! I’m confident you can do it.
Hello, Jane Cleland here. The question is, “How many pages should there be between TRDs?”
As you may know, TRD is my term for plot twist, plot reversal, or moment of heightened danger. A plot twist is something that’s unexpected, but not the opposite. A reversal is unexpected and the opposite. And a moment of heightened danger—TRD—which could be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual, is unexpected.
So how many pages between them? It depends on the genre. In traditional mysteries, which is mostly what I work in, I like to think of them as every 70 to 90 pages. In a thriller, it’s a much faster pace.
Where you place the TRDs is in fact how you control the pace. What do your readers expect? Do they want a more leisurely read? Slow them down. Do they want rip roarin’? Speed them up. And you do that by the placement of the TRDs.
I know you can do it. If this tip had value for you, would you like it? Would you share it? Would you subscribe to the channel? I’d be so appreciative. Thank you.
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